EASTON – Some students say the College’s new smoke-free policy will be tough to enforce and don’t believe it will be effective.
Stonehill College’s new policy came into effect July 1, however, students believe that the policy, while well intended, won’t stop people from smoking around campus.
“I think people are still going to do it. I think just making it a rule isn’t going to change anything,” said Jermaine Williams ‘25.
Williams said there wasn’t anybody to enforce it and that the smell of cigarette smoke wasn’t a good enough reason for the school to stop it. “It looks good on paper, but is not doing anything for anybody,” he said.
Ibrahim Saazi said the policy may be hard for campus police to enforce. “It induces a lot of bad behavior and insobriety, which will inevitably have a negative impact on the students.”
The new policy states that “Stonehill College strictly prohibits the usage, possession, and distribution of tobacco products on campus and on College property.” Additionally, the purpose of establishing the policy was to provide a clean, safe, and healthy environment for the Stonehill community, as well as support for those who wish to quit smoking.
While students said the new policy will be difficult to enforce, they also said that smoking bothered them. “It bothers me, because one, I don’t like the smell,” Saazi said, “And two, it is a habit that I’ve managed to break, and I don’t want to have anything hinder whatever I have broken.”
Samantha Galvao ’26 said smoking bothered her as well. “I just like keeping my lungs clean. The smell of cigarettes bothers me, but if someone is smoking weed it doesn’t bother me as much. I would just prefer not to do it for myself. Is just a personal preference.”
The students said they were aware of the health issues smoking could cause.
“Yes, as I am pre-med, I am aware of the difficulties and effects of smoking,” said Helena Sabbagh, a neurology major at Stonehill.
She said that she didn’t think the policy would help decrease these health issues because smokers would still be lighting up secretly on campus. “You can’t have it, so people are going to want it more,” she said.
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